The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently held that a deciding official has no obligation under 5 U.S.C. § 7513 to have available an alternative penalty when deciding on a proposed adverse action that is based on a security clearance determination.

On March 1, 2019, the Federal Labor Relations Authority issued a press release stating that it was inviting amici curiae briefs on an issue in U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Michael E. DeBakey Medical Center, Houston, Texas, and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Local 1633, Case No. 0-AR-5354. The issue involves whether the Federal Labor Relations Authority should reconsider relying on the factors in Allen v. U.S. Postal Service, 2 M.S.P.R. 420 (1980), when considering awards of attorney’s fees.

Recently, the Federal Circuit examined the interaction between statutory language under 38 U.S.C. § 7402(f) that compels the Department of Veterans Affairs to terminate Title 38 employees who lose their medical licensure for cause, and the due process rights available to those employees.

Last week, FEDmanager reported on the Federal Circuit’s decision in Siler v. EPA, on the issue of whether EPA adequately asserted the attorney-client privilege to withhold documents from Siler during the discovery phase of his MSPB appeal his removal from federal service. This week, we report on the portion of the court’s decision that vacated the MSPB’s denial of Siler’s whistleblower reprisal affirmative defense and remanded the matter to MSPB for further proceedings.